Ideally, Holly Holm would have fought at least two times in 2021 and sheād already be staring at a title shot or possibly even have a UFC championship belt back around her waist.
None of that happened, however, after Holm suffered through a brutal year that saw her drop out of both of her scheduled bouts including a showdown against Julianna Pena back in May. After she tangled with hydronephrosis ā a kidney affliction ā earlier in the year, Holm then dealt with a knee injury that knocked her out of a featherweight fight against Norma Dumont in October.
Now with Pena cemented as champion after her shocking upset win over Amanda Nunes at UFC 269, Holm is stuck contemplating the what ifs while trying to stay focused on a return to action in 2022.
āIām super frustrated,ā Holm said when speaking to MMA Fighting. āI definitely am on the mend. I hope to be back in there, back training and get back in there. Iām feeling a little better. I had to take care of some things. Itās super frustrating, especially when I see people fighting, especially [Nunes vs. Pena] but all the time.
āAny time I watch the fights, itās so frustrating cause I want to get in there so badly. I donāt want to embrace not being able to fight but Iāve been very fortunate to have a career where Iāve been pretty active. This last yearās had some stuff thatās been kind of from left field. Iām handling it. Iām going to keep pushing forward. Iām not going to let it break me and I want to be back in there very soon.ā
According to Holm, the issues with her knee arenāt anything that will require surgery but it still kept her from competing in October and sheās not quite ready to set a deadline for when she can fight again.
āItās not anything like ACL or anything real big,ā Holm explained. āItās minor stuff like scope (arthroscopic) stuff. Itās definitely not like a huge recovery.
āIt is one of those things, I expect to be back training in a month. Iām already being slightly active on it now. I just donāt want to false promise. Iām taking it day by day but I do feel like Iāll be back in full training soon.ā
Knowing she had Pena as an opponent earlier this year made watching her fight with Nunes that much harder, although Holm absolutely gives credit where credit is due.
Holm saw Pena take the fight to Nunes in a way that no one has been able to do for the past seven years while āThe Lionessā was running roughshod through two divisions in the UFC.
āCongratulations to her. She performed,ā Holm said about Pena. āShe went in there and did what she had to do. You donāt really know whatās behind the scenes, whatās really going on. I think Nunes probably wasnāt on her best fight game but thereās no excuses. A lot of people fear Penaās scrambles and sheās got takedowns and sheās got submissions and sheās kind of a dog. Sheās scrappy and thatās what people fear about her. You have to fear everything with every fighter you get in there with.
āPena started changing the fight with her jab. It started to take a toll on Nunes and I think thatās kind of where a lot of the fight started to change. I donāt know whatās going on in a fighterās mind but that was my take on it. I think it kind of caught Nunes off guard. I donāt think she was expecting that. Once Pena started landing, she kept on it. So good on her for going in there and performing.ā
Of course Holm can also recognize the mistakes that Nunes made during the fight ā particularly an ugly second round where she just started swinging wild punches with Pena while her conditioning absolutely failed her.
Pena took full advantage by weathering the storm and then hurting Nunes again and again with her accurate, straight punches before eventually finishing the fight with a submission on the ground.
ā[Nunes] kind of just stood in front of Pena and they were just exchanging,ā Holm said. āI think she was just kind of āmaybe I can catch her and knock her out, maybe I can get herā and thatās happened to me in a fight before and it got me knocked out. I got hit a couple times hard and I thought well Iām going to hit her hard, too. Lost all of my focus.
āWho knows what really happened in the fighterās mind. Only they know. Iāve fought a lot of people before and itās like āoh they werenāt themselves that night.ā Itās like no, I didnāt let them be themselves, I took them out of their game plan. Thereās credit on both sides that way. You canāt say Nunes didnāt show up. Well, Pena performed. You canāt take that away from Pena.ā
In the aftermath, Pena welcomed an immediate rematch considering the long, dominant reign that Nunes had atop the division. Nunes then accepted, although thereās still no exact date set when they will meet again.
Because timing is everything, and nothing is set in stone until the fighters set foot in the cage, Holm knows there could be a scenario where she would actually get the chance to face Pena in her next fight considering they were already matched up before.
Add to that, Holm has won her last two fights in a row including a lopsided win over Irene Aldana, who many had already crowned as a future contender in the division.
Now Holm has to learn to exist in the unknown as she awaits the opportunity to compete again next year once sheās healthy again.
āItās honestly, thatās a very feasible thing [that Pena could be next],ā Holm said. āYou never know whatās going to happen. Are they going to say letās rematch right away? Thereās been times a fighter will say āI need a little more time before a rematchā or āI need this, I need that.ā So you never know whatās going to happen.
āSo yeah itās super frustrating. I want to be right back in there. I want to be able to say hey, Iām ready to fight whoever, whenever. Iām real close to that. Itās super frustrating for sure.ā
Assuming she doesnāt draw Pena as her next opponent, Holm just wants to face whoever will get her back to that end goal so she can have the chance to become champion again.
āI feel like anything can happen,ā Holm said. āIt could be any of those names. Anywhere from Pena down to Miesha [Tate], [Ketlen] Vieira, Aspen [Ladd], I feel like anything can happen. I just want to be ready for any of it.
āI have to just train and fight and earn my spot. I just hope that happens.ā
Patented title move:
Maybe she can enter scissoring competitions instead?
is she 40 yet?
She shouldnāt fight anymore.
Thereās something Iāve always found unlikable about Holm.
Iām the opposite man. Thereās something Iāve always found likeable about Holm.
Injuries? More likely USADA.
Open an OF
tea
She needs to get on the webcam befo she too old.